Of Salad and Beer
by Rivaille D'Anzelotte
Summary: An entry from a diary of the new farmer in the Valley. It's just a normal day interacting with its residents, and of course, the mandatory visits to the Saloon at night. Complete, for now.


1st day of Summer, Year 1

I tsked as I held the sickle tightly and hacked away at the dried up crops. I wasn't exactly ready for summer to completely destroy my spring crops in just one night, nor am I ready to work under the hot beating sun scorching down my skin. _'This is what I get for spending the night at the Adventure's Guild.'_ I bit my lip regrettably as I tried to pull a particularly stubborn root. They say curiosity killed the cat, and 25 levels down the mine resulted with me having my ass handed by slimes and ghouls. Fortunately, Marlon saved me from a near death experience, while Gil continued to banter on my foolishness. Supposedly trying to show his fatherly side, he sort of forced me to stay in the guild for the night while Marlon called for Harvey. The doctor wasn't exactly pleased about being woken up at 1 in the morning, but perked up at the sight of my slime burns and bat scratches. Well, I suppose Gil was acting like a good dad, with how he even paid for Harvey's expenses. I received one whopping smack at the head afterwards though.

After clearing the field for one good hour, I headed down the stairs to the stream to wash my soiled hands. Forget-me-not Farm, the land was passed down to me from my grandfather, who thought it'd be funny to start a farm by the hills. Terrain's rocky, but there's good ore around, and the river leading to Cindersnap Forest is near for my very own, shameless showering. I splashed water on my face and neck, determined to rub an incoming sunburn. I hope I still have that sunscreen Leah gave me. If not, I'll have to scavenge through Pierre's store for some.

After washing up, I dropped off the tools I didn't need in a chest and changed my shirt. I need to do laundry soon or else I'll be wearing this shirt for the next few days. Sighing, I stepped out of the cottage and unto the familiar path to Town. Besides sunscreen, I need to buy seeds, perhaps check in with Shane and see if he'll talk to me. While walking, I caught sight of Lewis, the mayor, standing by the shade of the clinic, wiping his forehead. Since he's always nice to me, I walked up to say hello.

"Oh, good morning, farmer. It's actually noon but you must've had a rough night." He said as I deadpanned. Damn, this town may be small, but stories run fast. Must be Harvey, talking about it to Maru, and Maru probably mouthing it off to her parents (with Sebastian carefully listening as always, damn it) and then the cycle begins. I winced at the thought and rubbed my left shoulder, which still has a slime burn from last night.

"...Yeah. I'm fine, though. Harvey patched me up." I reassured him as Lewis nodded, dabbing his sweaty forehead with his handkerchief, again.

"Mhm, just be careful next time."

"I will. Be seeing you, Lewis."

I said goodbye and went to Pierre's. Thank god for the ceiling fan, or else I could've died from heat exhaustion. The man behind the counter, Pierre, looked up from the paper, smiled and nodded at me. I quickly bought a lot of melon seeds, pepper seeds and blueberry seeds, spending almost all of my hard earned money. After purchasing, I paused for a bit to chat with Pierre and his wife Caroline, both of them gently reprimanding me and telling me not to do such a dangerous thing again. Sometime later, Abigail came back from her walk, and I played Journey of the Prairie King with her for the rest of the afternoon.

At around 5 I waved goodbye to the family and went out of the grocer. I immediately spotted Shane, who's walking to the saloon with his disgruntled face and slacking posture. "Hey there!" I called out to him. He didn't turn. He must've not heard me, or he did hear me; he just chose not to talk. I, myself, smiled and followed him to the saloon. He gave me the evil stare, but chose to ignore me all the same.

"Welcome, you two. What can I get you?" Emily, the waitress, said cheerfully as the Joja worker waved a hand.

"The usual."

"I'll have a salad."

"Alright.~" As the bluette left, the man finally turned to me and snarled, "What do you want? Why do you keep talking to me?" I arched a brow at his direction while I leaned on the counter to support myself. "Oh, don't be like that. You just looked like you need someone to talk to." I said as he snorted in disbelief. I looked to the side and hid another smile creeping up on my face. The guy reminds me of a familiar, grumpy old man. Haha.

Even after finishing my salad, I stayed longer to make sure Shane doesn't stagger in the dark, drunk. When he refused to talk to me, I turned to Emily and surprisingly, Harvey, who only came because he didn't have dinner. From time to time, I'd catch Shane glance at my direction, and sometimes Emily's, but the doctor's prying away all of my attention. To be honest, he's a bit cute when he's drunk.

"How are you holding up?" His voice is slightly slurred as he nursed the empty beer tank. I unconsciously touched my shoulder again and gave a reassuring nod. "I'm still in one shape, thanks to you." I said with a flushed face. The gaze he's giving me is enough to bite my lip and look away. Perhaps the smell of beer's just going to my head...

There was a loud slam and I immediately snapped my head to the side to see the Joja worker on his feet, hand on the counter with a few crumpled bills. His eyes are nearly drooping as I also stood up and supported his shoulder. "Will you be alright, farmer? You know you don't have to do this every night." Emily worriedly said as I managed to wave it off and helped the staggering Shane from falling. "It's fine. It's the least I could do for him paying my meal." I jabbed my head at the direction of my long-time empty plate and the extra bills on the wooden surface.

Harvey also stood up to help but I quickly shot him down, "No, doc, I got him. You should go home too, your house is pretty near anyway, you won't have that much of a problem." I said as he only stared with glassy eyes, and then numbly nodded. Satisfied, I flashed him as small grin and left the saloon with grumpy old Shane.

* * *

 **I honestly don't know how to go with this. It's basically a prompt to get me back into writing. I'd probably write again, with a different pairing this time. It's not much, but, please review. I'd like to know how I can improve my writing style, especially after a really long break from writing.**

 **Thanks, and I hope you enjoyed reading.**

 **-Rivai**


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